Men in Cryptozoology

Atlas Bear Claims

The extinct Atlas bear (Ursus crowtheri), above, continues to live on in dispute, even here on the pages of Cryptomundo. Today, round two in the battle between a German commentator and a French respondent. Michel Raynal is one of the foremost cryptozoologists in Europe, the webmaster of Virtual Institute of Cryptozoology, the first French site devoted to cryptozoological research. Raynal, pictured above, passes along some comments, below, in response to German comment maker Sordes’s claims on the Atlas bear published at Cryptomundo, which can be found more completely here: Sordes’s comments: “Around 1900 (or a bit later) bones of this [...]

Lion Vanishes Into Misquotation Valley

Cryptozoology author Matt Bille, who found himself in the middle of a firestorm of “African lion” sightings in his hometown, was interviewed by the local media. On July 22, 2008, The Colorado Springs Gazette published an article about the Colorado Springs “lion.” In it they quoted Matt Bille. Or, should I say, misquoted him? Bille has emailed me that he “did not say the last half of the last sentence about making no rational sense.” Wildlife officials had a few things to say about the misquotations in the unfolding of this story too. Here is the article Bille sends along: [...]

When Cryptozoologists Die

Bill Rebsamen’s tribute to Scott Norman, who passed away suddenly earlier in 2008. This may be a difficult essay for you to read, but this is a subject we all have ignored for a long time. There is a darker side that occurs after the obituaries and remembrances are written. What happens after the tributes are published? Why have we avoided the obvious, and watched legacies vanish? There are some things I’ve got to say. We shall pick up an existence by its frogs. Wise men have tried other ways. They have tried to understand our state of being, by [...]

No Trunks, Says Palaeontologist

In my never-ending quest to give both sides of various intellectually stimulating issues, here is part two of Monday’s discussion on whether or not Mokele-Mbembe, if discovered, might be found to have a trunk. University of Portsmouth vertebrate palaeontologist and science writer Darren Naish (above) has a contrary opinion to that of the one highlighted here by reconstruction artist Bill Munns yesterday, on whether or not trunks existed on sauropods and a variety of other fossil animals. For the sauropods, Naish emails me this comment about Munns’ images (one, shown above) and the pro-trunk theory: “Very cool. But the palaeontological [...]

Does Mokele-Mbembe Have A Trunk?

William Munns and his reconstruction of Gigantopithecus. The famed recreator of Gigantopithecus, artist Bill Munns has opened a new window into his world and what we find inside is filled with wonders to behold. Bigfoot. Mokele-Mbembe. Saber-toothed Cats. A cryptozoo, indeed. Munns has shared with me his news that he has uploaded and opened his Bill Munns Creature Gallery. His continuingly upgraded site, Bill Munns Creature Gallery, represents 35 years of his work in varied fields of movie makeup effects, museum exhibit models, theme park robotics, and paleontology studies that have also included visualizations of prehistoric wildlife. As he points [...]